Danny Davis

Would it not seem to the gentleman reasonable that the administration, we would hope the administration would do everything possible at that point to utilize these contracts in the interest of the Government?

I would like to ask a couple of questions. We have, in addition to the Federal employees who have been furloughed and unpaid since December 15, in my district thousands of Federal contractors, a majority of whom have been working with…

Let me just make a couple of final points. It also does not get us to a balanced budget which is something else that I think needs to be done that we feel very strongly. The fourth thing that could happen is the President could put a…

Well, that would do it, but it does not solve some of the other problems. A continuing resolution is not a resolution. There are still a lot of issues at play in the continuing resolution that frankly ought to be worked out.

Let me say to my friend that may be able to happen in time. We will have a discharge petition. But 30 days have to run. The problem with this recess is that you do not get the legislative days run during that time. Eventually this will…

But the central issue here is, should the Government in its procurement operate on a ``one size fits all'' standard, or are we going to allow the buyer, are we going to allow that agent then who is trying to get the best price they can for…

In fact, as I understand the legislation, the gentleman has even stricter standards in terms of bid protests, in terms of what those criteria are going to be.

And, as I read this, the amendment and the bill, there was some rhetoric about these decisions were made by Government bureaucrats. I guess they are talking about Government procurement officers, behind closed doors, back-door decisions…

Now let me put sole source to one side just for one second. Can anyone bid on the procurement regard? Is there any bar to anyone bidding that is in this bill?

Let me ask the gentlewoman from Kansas then are there any notice provision that she has eliminated in her amendment, and I would ask both, as I understand it, what notice provisions now will not go out to small businesses under this that…

This emergency legislation is the cornerstone of our Nation's response to the tragic and completely unacceptable financial condition of our Nation's Capital. Life in Washington, DC, is coming apart at the seams. This legislation will halt…

The answer is that instead of the small parcel which could be covered under the existing legislation, a 10 percent diminution of that, that this is the entire property.

I am still uncomfortable with either House being able to overturn the President, but I understand the thrust of this.

I understand that, but to get the principle once again, that was money that in point of fact both Houses would not have passed initially. It would not have passed muster. Under this, if it passed muster in only one House, it would survive…

Let me state my concern to the gentleman and see if he can help and tell us what happens when you pork up some of these bills. I will take the grant to Lamar University last year in the crime bill, which I think Americans looked at and…

So in effect if one House approves the rescission but the other House does not, in effect one House can kill the rescission?

I, too, am uncomfortable about the two-thirds in both Houses having to override. That is a tremendous transfer of power from the legislative to the executive branch. But as I read the gentleman's amendment, in this particular case it…

I think the committee reports are going to amplify what the benefits are as they traditionally have done. That will be available to the Congress before they vote on it. What this bill does for the first time is it brings accountability as…

Mr. Chairman, I would concur with the gentleman's statement. There is a standard of reasonableness built into this bill in terms of the agencies being able to gather and make the reports.

I would like the gentleman to respond to a couple of concerns that I have. First of all, it is my understanding that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervisor have never issued safety and soundness…

They do not have an option of opting out of this. We have the same authority we would, but the costs would be identified up front. We would have to affirmatively waive that point of order. The responsibility would still lie with the…

We would still have that option, but we would have the costs in front of us and identified before we could act on that instead of being automatic. This is not a no-money-no-mandates bill. There may be an amendment offered to that later…

If a mandate is required and we believe the costs should be allocated to someone else, why not vote on it? Why not overrule a point of order and take some responsibility for our actions as we send that dollar down to the States and…

Also it is my recollection that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the NFIB, the National Association of Home Builders and Browning-Ferris, all private sector entities that could be adversely affected through this public- private competition…

In point of fact, does not this legislation specifically require the committee reports to include an analysis of how funding a mandate would affect the competitive balance between the public and the private sector?